Bodies of Copts beheaded by Daesh, Libya, located

29-09-2017 06:27 PM

Nader Shukry

The Libyan Public Prosecutor Assistant al-Sadiq al-Sour announced the nationality of the Islamic terrorists who beheaded 20 Coptic labourers and one Ghanaian in the coastal town of Sirte, Libya, in January 2015. Responsibility for the beheading was claimed by Daesh, also known as Islamic State, IS. Egypt had back then retaliated with air strikes against Daesh camps and arms and ammunition stores in the region.

Mr Sour said that it took a series of complicated procedures to catch one of the militants involved in the crime: the cameraman who videotaped the beheading which took place behind Mahary Hotel west of Sirte, and which sent shivers of horror throughout the whole world.

The arrested militant, who “observed and oversaw the incident,” gave the Libyan authorities all details about the killings, Sour said at a press conference in Tripoli. He described the militant as “one of most dangerous” fighters in the Libyan IS group. The militant also informed authorities about where the victims’ bodies were buried.

Mr Sour said that the terrorists who executed the crime came from Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Chad. He added that the place where the bodies were buried has been defined and that the bodies will be dug out and delivered to their families, in coordination with the Egyptian authorities.

He also said that the investigations are still ongoing with some terroristic cells that had controlled Sirte during the past few years; the investigation which is taking place in Tripoli involves cell leaders from Egypt, Tunisia, Niger, Turkey, Chad and Saudi Arabia. The Libyan army has managed to kill dozens from Daesh in Sirte and was able to stop supplies from reaching them, and communications with their leaders in Iraq and Syria.

In a press conference, the Public Prosecutor Assistant published the pictures of some of the accused and sentenced in addition to some of those who escaped or killed by the Libyan forces during the liberation of Sirte.

Egyptian Public Prosecutor Nabil Ahmed Sadeq assigned the International Cooperation Office to promptly and legally arrange with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Libyan Public Prosecutor in order to participate in the investigation held with the arrested terrorists especially the Egyptians involved; and to coordinate with the Libyan relevant authorities in digging out the bodies of the beheaded Copts and arranging for their return to Egypt

Watani contacted The families of 13 of the martyrs, in the village of al-Our in Minya, Upper Egypt. They received the news with mixed feelings: renewal of grief for the loss of their children, and joy at the prospect of bringing back their bodies for burial at the church that is being built in their name in the village. The church is near-completion, and was built to honour the martyrs by direct order from President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi.

Reaching Out

Watani started as an Egyptian weekly Sunday newspaper published in Cairo. The word Watani is Arabic for “My Homeland”. The paper was founded in 1958 by the prominent Copt Antoun Sidhom (1915 – 1995), who strove for the establishment of a civil, democratic society in Egypt, where all Egyptians would enjoy full citizenship rights regardless of their religious denomination. To this day when Watani is published as a weekly paper and an online news site, the objective remains the same. Those in charge of Watani view this role as a patriotic all-Egyptian vocation. Special attention is given to shedding light on Coptic culture and tradition as authentically Egyptian, this being a topic largely disregarded or little-understood by Egypt’s media. Watani is deeply dedicated to offer its readers high quality, extensive, objective, credible and well-researched media coverage, with special focus on Coptic issues, culture, heritage, and contribution to Egyptian society.